Oh dear, it is my favorite Stereolab. They did so much, spanning from Krautrock to French pop, all the while keeping up their obsession with heavily socialist lyrics. While it is a shame that they ultimately broke up in the good music starved year of 2008, they are still releasing new things under new names (like Laetita Sadier has under her own name).
But out of their extraordinarily prolific career, I’ve reserved a soft spot for this album. Part of it is due to their heavy involvement with Krautrock at this time. Later on, they’d become completely obsessed with 60s French pop, but their live shows usually displayed something of this nature. Loud guitars with the vocals mixed somewhat low. Yes, I realize that I just described Steve Albini’s approach to every band ever, but this is dramatically different than any of his projects.
For one, the sheer amount of happy energy would instantly repel him. “Tone Burst” ranks as one of my favorite openers to any album. It completely sets the mood for what you’re about to experience. Even glimpses of their future French pop selves appear on the excellent “Pack Yr Romantic Mind”.
Oddly, there’s also a great deal of their experimental efforts on here, with the masterpiece “Jenny Ondioline” clocking in at over 18 glorious minutes. To see this piece performed live is truly a beautiful thing to behold. “Lock-Groove Lullaby” neatly closes the record.
Sadly, Stereolab are no more, on indefinite hiatus. That means most likely we’ll have to make do with the last bits of leftovers called “Not Music”, which is due out on November 10th of this year. Or you could check out Laetitia Sadier’s self-named solo project, which should be more than enough to help you with your fix.